The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of petunia, botanically known as a Petunia sp., and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Whip Bule’. The new cultivar originated from a hybridization made in February 2002 in Gilroy, Calif. The female parent was ‘Kakegawa S28’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,887, also known as ‘Supertunia Royal Velvet’), a purple-flowered proprietary petunia plant, while the male parent was ‘PY152’, a proprietary blue-flowered petunia plant (unpatented).
The new cultivar was created in 2002 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif. and Andijk, The Netherlands over a two-year period. The plant has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif. and Andijk, The Netherlands. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for in Canada on Mar. 31, 2005, in Switzerland on Sep. 16, 2005 and with the European Union on Sep. 28, 2005.